A special conversation between two remarkable protagonists from the worlds of journalism and academia.
On one side, Federico Rampini, one of the most renowned international journalists and writers, whose in-depth and original geopolitical analyses have over the past forty years influenced how we see the US, many Asian countries and other areas of the world, informing and inspiring not only Italians but also countless readers worldwide.
On the other side, Saho Matsumoto, a respected professor at Nihon University, is an expert in the role that religion plays in international and domestic politics, with a wealth of knowledge in Vatican diplomacy as well as US politics. Matsumoto has contributed to significant researches also in religion and globalization in Europe and the US.
By following their unique perspectives on Italy’s role as an important part of the EU and Japan as a great Asian power, we will be able to understand much more about the old and new political and cultural relationships between the two countries and how they will move in a fast changing world, with particular reference to the recently established US administration.
The talk will be held in English without translation.
Information
Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 6:30 PM (doors open at 6:00 PM)
Italian Cultural Institute, Auditorium
※ Entry to the Institute will not be allowed after 6:30 PM.
To book, click HERE.
For inquiries: eventi.iictokyo@esteri.it
Federico RAMPINI journalist, writer, public speaker and geopolitical analyst, was born in Genoa (Italy) in 1956. From 1986 to 1995 he was correspondent in Paris and then deputy director of the Sole-24 Ore in Milano. From 1997 to 2000 he was the European editor of La Repubblica, in Brussels and Frankfurt. From 2000 to 2004 he was West Coast Correspondent and columnist for digitsl technology and the global economy of La Repubblica in San Francisco. In 2004 – 2009 he was the China correspondent of La Repubblica. As a special envoy for Asia he also covered India, Japan, Korea. Since 2009 he has been based in New York. He was the US Bureau Chief for the newspaper La Repubblica and a White House correspondent, traveling regularly with three Presidents of the United States (Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden) and covering international summits: G7, G20, NATO, ASEAN, APEC. He is now a global columnist for the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He has published more than twenty essays, many of which have been best-selling books in Italy and translated in other European, Asian, Latin American countries.
He is a member of the New York-Washington based Council on Foreign Relations, and of the Foreign Policy Association.
Saho MATSUMOTO is currently professor at the College of International Relations, Nihon University since 2021.
She graduated from the Sacred Heart Catholic University in Tokyo, took a masters degree from Keio University and then obtained a PhD degree from the University of Warwick, UK. Her PhD thesis was published as Britain and the Papacy in the age of revolutions, Royal Historical Society, 2003. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Risorgimento Institute, Rome, sponsored by the Italian government as Borsa di Studio. Her research field focuses on the role of religion in international and domestic politics, such as Vatican diplomacy as well as US politics and the influence of the Evangelicals and Catholic lobbies. She was a lecturer and then professor at Nagoya City University, 2000-2020 before moving to Nihon University in 2021. Recently she contributed a chapter for The Vatican and Permanent Neutrality, eds. By M Breger and H Reginbogin, Lexington Books, 2022. She has made media appearances as a commentor on Trump and the Religious Right, and on European populism and religion.